Assessment of Natural Dyes in The Production of Handcrafted Fabrics

The demand for hand dyed fabrics is increasing. In order to meet up with this increase in demand and to achieve economic success, traditional dyers have been relying on synthetic dyes which are expensive, harmful and injurious to human health and environment. This book is unique in that it has provided information on the origin of natural dyes and dyeing in Southwestern Nigeria. It also gave complete illustrated instructions on how dyes are extracted from plants for the production of different kinds of handcrafted fabrics in Southwestern Nigeria. However, the author of this book was able to assess different problems militating against the practice of natural dyeing in the study area. Also the commercial viability of natural dyes was established. Major dyeing centres were visited to observe different practices involved in the craft of natural dyeing. Markets known for the sales of locally dyed fabrics were also visited to observe the display of fabrics made with natural dyes for visual art appreciation.